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HAGATNA, Guam (August 3) - The Guam Memorial Hospital is once again trying to move forward with privatization, for the financial good of the hospital and the overall good of our island community.

Last night, with the support of the Guam Medical Association, the hospital asked the Guam Legislature to support privatization plans, which hospital officials said will help regain accreditation, as well as Medicare and Medicaid certification.

GMH wants to privatize its housekeeping and security services, and transition employees currently in those areas into "patient-support positions." This would allow for better patient care as well as reduced costs of about $500,000 to $800,000 a year, GMH officials have said. The hospital also noted the economic benefits -- more private sector jobs, new taxes for the government and better business practices.

But in order for this to happen, our senators and the Camacho administration must...

HONOLULU (Aug. 2) -- Basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS is improving dramatically in China where the government has distributed information on the epidemic, especially in rural areas, a study co-authored by an East-West Center specialist shows.

In a survey of seven pilot sites in the Eastern half of China where HIV/AIDS information was distributed by the Chinese government, basic knowledge about major modes of HIV transmission and ways of prevention in rural areas increased from 2 percent in the year 2000 to 39 percent in 2003. In urban areas, it increased from 11 percent to 45 percent, according to the study conducted by Jiajian Chen, a senior research fellow at the East-West Center, and Shengli Chen and Shikun Zhang of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission. The study was based on responses from 7,053 men and women ages 15-49 for the baseline survey in 2000 and 6,912 men and women at the same ages three years later.

1. Corazon C. Aquino, former president of the Philippines, commented on her disillusionment with Philippine politics, on the recent election in her country, and on her concept of "People Power People," in a speech she delivered at the recent East-West Center Foundation dinner, where Aquino received the East-West Center's Asia Pacific Community Building Award. See her speech at http://foundation.eastwestcenter.org/

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (August 3) - It is indeed refreshing to read of a Parliamentary Select Committee set up last month that appears to be speedily dealing with the issues it was created to address.

We refer to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Pacific Economic Community (PSCPEC), which has a series of clearly defined targets in its sights.

These include the possibility of part-time work for senior PNG students in Australia.

Governor Ian Ling-Stuckey of New Ireland, who chairs the Committee, says that its members have already undertaken several studies on this issue.

The advantages of some 2000 PNG students having an opportunity to work outside of their own country for a few months are obvious.

Endemic insularity is plainly obvious among high school leavers, according to academics tasked with introducing them to university studies.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Aug. 4) – Papua New has stepped up surveillance operations at all border posts to combat escalating crime in the country’s international shipping ports, Commissioner General David Sode has announced.

Internal Revenue Commission chief David Sode said the border-related crimes included illegal immigrants, wholesale smuggling of goods and firearms.

The impounded items included huge wooden crates containing large quantities of spare parts of heavy machinery that were not declared on the Customs Entry Form and appeared to have been deliberately omitted from the ship’s two-page cargo manifest, he said. "This is a clear breach of the Customs Act and a violation of the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Laws."

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (SIBC, Aug. 4) – Medical authorities on Isabel Island in the Solomon Islands have warned against a poisonous seashell after a three-year-old boy was died after stepping on one yesterday.

Provincial Medical Director Dr Patrick Paia warned that people can die within a short period of time if the seashell injects its venom into the bloodstream.

The shell is common on reefs near the island.

He says while the seashell has not been properly identified at this stage, authorities know that its venom is fatal.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Aug. 4) - The people of Ukarumpa, in the Obura Wonenara district of Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, now have a market in which to sell their garden produce.

The fresh produce market was launched last week as part of the Ukarumpa Nucleus Project.

Villagers now will not have to risk their lives sitting on the roadside or pay PMV fares to sell garden produce at markets elsewhere. Buyers too will not have to travel far.

Speaking at the launch, local elder Pastor Bafi Wameneso urged the Ukarumpa community and Aiyura Valley to look after the facility and to make use of it to sell garden produce.

"As parents we must teach our children how to make gardens and to sell the produce to benefit the family," Pastor Wameneso said.

He also urged people to change the generally bad perception other people have held of Ukarumpa and the whole of the Obura Wonenara district.

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Oceania Flash, Aug. 5) - A crippling three-day strike by the Union of Kanak and Exploited Workers (USTKE) in New Caledonia was called off on Wednesday after the union said it had received sufficient assurances from local authorities that their demands would be met.

Since Saturday, New Caledonia had been crippled by a general strike that severely disrupted air, sea and land transport, as well as the local radio and television (where local news went off air), the Nouméa wharf and a crucial flour mill.

New Caledonia was on Tuesday nearing paralysis, as access to the main fuel depot had also been blocked, preventing refill of all of the French Pacific territory's service stations.

To maintain passenger traffic, the international airport of La Tontouta had been placed under heightened police watch, but freight was still affected.

Since Saturday, USTKE had also decided to ban RFO television and radio journalists from reporting on the...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Aug. 4) – Papua New Guinea Member of Parlialment Andrew Kumbakor, who represents Nuku, yesterday called on the government to structure the 2005 national budget in the interest of the rural population.

Speaking after the Parliament rose yesterday, the former National Planning Minister said the government should allocate adequate funds for major capital works programs in the rural areas.

He said the political instability being experienced today is caused by members of parliament who have suddenly realized they have yet to deliver projects to their constituencies.

He said senior ministers in government should "open their eyes" and see what the fuss is all about.

"When I was Minister for Planning, I ensured that members the projects in the rural areas were funded. We constructed roads and bridges. That is what the members are asking for and I hope that the next budget should look into these situation and address...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.